Books and Ideas

A copy of the diary of Anne Frank on exhibit Frankfurt, Germany, on March 24, 2017.

The Magical, Mysterious World of Archives The Magical, Mysterious World of Archives

Archives are where forgotten lives, hidden histories, and unfinished stories wait to be rediscovered.

May 20, 2026 / Michele Willens

Dr. Rodolfo Acuña circa 1969/1970.

The Enduring Legacy of Rudy Acuña The Enduring Legacy of Rudy Acuña

The pioneering Chicano studies scholar, who died in March, reshaped the writing of history.

May 20, 2026 / Obituary / Theresa Montaño and Oriel María Siu

A crowd in Berlin celebrating the Kaiser’s proclamation of war against Great Britain, 1914.

Siegfried Kracauer’s Quixotic Anti-War Novel Siegfried Kracauer’s Quixotic Anti-War Novel

In 1928’ s Ginster, the German writer broke the mold of the World War I novel by refusing politics for aesthetics.

May 20, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Jasmine Liu

Karen Tei Yamashita on Why We Shouldn't Take Fiction Lightly

Karen Tei Yamashita on Why We Shouldn't Take Fiction Lightly Karen Tei Yamashita on Why We Shouldn't Take Fiction Lightly

A conversation with the author about her new book’s regretful relevance amidst escalatingly violent ICE detainments.

May 15, 2026 / Q&A / Naomi Elias

The United States’ Long War Against Iran

The United States’ Long War Against Iran The United States’ Long War Against Iran

The Nation was among the first publications to report the CIA’s role in the 1953 overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh.

May 14, 2026 / Column / Richard Kreitner

AI Is Incapable of Poetry

AI Is Incapable of Poetry AI Is Incapable of Poetry

It’s incapable of producing anything creative that isn’t dreck.

May 14, 2026 / Column / Katha Pollitt

A video still of Bill Gates walking past reporters after being hit by a cream pie in Brussels, Belgium, 2000.

Is Antitrust Enough? Is Antitrust Enough?

Tim Wu’s Age of Extraction lays out an antitrust strategy for fighting platform capitalism. But does the challenge posed by Big Tech require a new playbook?

May 14, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Michael Eby

The Radical Genius of Álvaro Enrigue

The Radical Genius of Álvaro Enrigue The Radical Genius of Álvaro Enrigue

His new novel is as much a work of political philosophy as it is one of fiction.

May 12, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Nicolás Medina Mora

Nation Poetry

Koan: What is the true word? Koan: What is the true word?

May 12, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Ye Chun

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